Headed to Burgess Falls late on Saturday and came back on Sunday night. It was worth the drive!
I saw some pictures of this waterfall last summer, 2021, and instantly wanted to go. You can view the top of the falls from an observation deck.
Burgess Falls is located on the Falling Water River. There is a Burgess Falls State Park that I mistook as a put in location. The state park is available for day use and has about a 2.7 mile trail for hiking. This trail is considered difficult to strenuous and is 5.4 miles for the entire loop.
The 5.4 mile loop trail has a total of 18 creek crossings. During high waters, it can be a challenge or impassable in some areas since there are no bridges and only cables and rock crossings.
However, the real view is from the lake.
For a water put-in, the closest location to the falls is Cane Hollow Rec Area. This is where we put in.
From the Rec Area to Burgess falls, it is about 2 miles one way. The entire trip took about 4 hours. We didn’t boogie it the entire way and the currents were pretty strong as we got closer the the Cane Hollow.
You can see Burgess Falls by jetski, kayak or any other shallow boat.
Just on the lake
If you go by kayak, it was a bit rough getting back closer to Cane Hollow Recreation Area. It’s about 4 miles round trip.
By boat, the closest marina on Center Hill Lake is Cookeville Boat Dock. And apparently there is another waterfall called Fancher Falls nearby.
Very cool to see Burgess Falls coming around the bend.Remains of the power mill. It’s located right before the falls.
There is another waterfall that you can see from the lake as well. It’s called Francher Falls, but it’s not as a large or spectacular waterfalls like Burgess Falls. We did not make it to this waterfall, nor did we plan on it. It was not on the way, and the distance is much further.
Just of list of wants of things that I’d like to do, close to Atlanta and further out. My list starts with things that I’d like to do but the location doesn’t matter, then it will be location based, starting with Georgia then the surrounding states.
Each place will have an update and link to the corresponding post.
Let’s have some adventure!
Not Location based
Halo Skydiving
A HALO jump can also be referred to as a high altitude. I’ve skydived several times now and since then I want to go higher! A regular skydive is roughly around 14,500 feet in the air where a halo jump is between 15,00 and 35,000 feet in the air.
A day of waterfalls
I seems to have quite a bit of waterfalls on my list and that’s fine with me. I think what I’ll do is plan a weekend and do as many waterfalls as possible.
I think that will be fun!
Pics of all covered bridges in Georgia
I’m not sure why, but I just have a fascination with covered bridges. I just think that they are super neat.
for georgia
Raven Cliff Falls, GA
This is also accessible from South Carolina as well.
Taccoa Falls, GA
I’ve been here before and those steps are killer. I didn’t go to the base or go to the sliding rocks at that time and those are the two things that I’d like to do there.
Anna ruby falls, ga
This is a set of twin falls not to far from Helen, GA.
Zip line across the chattahoochee river in Columbus
This will just be fun and an adrenaline rush.
Tenneessee
Kayak Burgess Falls, TN
This was on my list from last summer. It didn’t happen, but did go to Emerald Cove, AZ last summer.
This is a a found pic from the Internet.
Update: I did go kayaking here. Super fun! It was also my pup’s first time in a kayak and he did very well.
Marketing Basics Price Product Promotion And Place
4 P’s of Marketing
The 4 P’s aren’t new. They’ve been around since the 1950’s and you probably learned them in school. But they’re easy to forget once you’re deep in campaigns, dashboards, and day-to-day operations. This is a quick reminder: product, price, promotion, and place are still the foundation everything else is built on.
Marketing tactics and channels will change. These four principles won’t.
As the example throughout the rest of the article, a kayak manufacturer will be used.
Product
This is what a business sells, either a physical item, a service, or both. From a marketing perspective, the following will need to be determined:
How many different product variations or product lines should be sold?
Our kayak manufacturer may have determined what kayak options they would bring to the market. Some variations may include: single or tandem (for two people), sit in or sit on, use of the kayak like fishing, rapids, seafaring. Colors, lengths and accessories can also fit into this category.
How should the product or service be packaged or presented?
Perhaps the manufacturer wants to market their kayaks for everyday families. So they make their marketing material relevant to families. While kayaks are generally long, they may have a specialty line for inflatable kayaks.
As a service, they may also offer credits for their customers if they want to upgrade their kayak and offer the returned kayaks as a demo for a more affordable price.
How will it be serviced?
The kayak manufacturer may have a warranty or satisfaction policy. They may also have an extensive website with detailed information on their kayaks and other products to allow their customers to understand every aspect of their kayak or accessories.
Sometimes marketers might have involvement in products are design and which features are included based on their market research.
Price
A product’s or service’s price isn’t just “how much stuff costs”. There is more to think about than that.
If marketing is all about driving profitable action, then prices need to be set at a level the market will support.
Here are some marketing considerations with prices that the kayak company will need to consider:
What is the market rate per unit of a product?
Pricing policies requires market analysis and competitive research to determine what is a fair price for a product while considering production costs and what consumers are willing to pay. If the kayak is sold at high prices, does it match with its perceived value
How should discounts be applied and timed?
The kayak manufacturer may have promotional activities and/or promotional pricing for its partnered retailers. Should the product be put on sale at certain times of year?
Does it make sense to give customers options for payments?
A retailer for the kayak may offer financing options through their website with the help of 3rd party payment processors or other payment plans.
However the kayaks and accessories are priced, as long as they are at the right price for the customer needs, they will be purchased.
Promotion
If a product is launched but no one sees it, does it exist? Technically it does, but only taking up space.
If there is a new kayak design or accessory, it needs to be marketed so customers know it exists.
Which channels will be used to promote the product?
A marketing channel the way the product or service is being marketed from the start at the company to end at the intended consumer.
This includes online and offline channels.
Some examples of traditional marketing include: print, television, and radio. For our kayak company, television or radio may not be optimal, but printed brochures or promotional displays at outdoor fitters may work instead.
Where will it be promoted?
Online promotions include social media and Google Ads for example, but are not limited to these. Offline promotions include the traditional marketing tactics that were previously discussed. It also includes in stores promoting and at relevant events.
What message needs to be communicated?
The text, images, and imagery that is used will to tell the audience what the product is all about, and encourage them to buy it.
Some examples of the promotion strategies may include, email marketing, content marketing, or advertising with local groups that have active families.
Place
The right product needs to be in the right place for customers to find it and purchase it.
Where is the product distributed?
Online then shipped or sold in retail locations.
As far as retail locations, will it be big box, like Cabela’s or Academy Sports.
Will specific locations get the product?
For example, the kayaks wouldn’t be sold in areas that are typically frozen year round. That wouldn’t make sense at all and would be a complete waste of time, money, and resources.
Conclusion
The 4 P’s aren’t glamorous. They don’t make for flashy conference talks or viral LinkedIn posts. But they work. If a strategy isn’t landing, going back to basics and running through these four questions usually reveals where something got missed.
It’s a framework worth keeping in your back pocket.
If you’ve never worked on business process improvement, it’s easy to think it’s not worth your time or that it’s too hard.
Process improvements do not have to be hard and it doesn’t have to be for large or corporate companies with multiple warehouse and/or locations.
Even small businesses can benefit with simple improvements.
Simple and Easy improvements
Condense your sales cycle: At a small swim shop I worked at, we had a process for supplier labels and inventory sheets that technically worked, but we had done it so many times on autopilot that nobody stopped to ask if it could be better. A few simple changes: consolidating the labels, updating and organizing the sheet: cut down the time spent on something we were doing repeatedly. Sometimes the process that works is still worth a second look.
Excel and Google Sheets automations: Beyond filtering, functions like VLOOKUP and index matching can combine datasets automatically instead of manually cross-referencing and printing things out. If you’re regularly pulling data from two sources and comparing them, that’s a good candidate for automation. Less paper, less manual entry, fewer errors.
Checklists: I kept quarterly and monthly checklists for SEO tasks and competitor analysis. Repetitive work like that is easy to let slip or do out of order without a list keeping you on track. It doesn’t have to be complicated: even a simple Google Sheet with checkboxes gets the job done.
Larger scale: PIM integration: A PIM (Product Information Management) system is essentially a central database for large product data sets. Instead of managing product details across multiple spreadsheets and systems, everything lives in one place and can be pulled from there. Even with a PIM in place, the day-to-day still involved importing, exporting, filtering, and working in batches: but having that single source of truth made the whole process cleaner and more consistent.
Process improvements do not have to be drawn out projects. As you can see in the examples, they can be very simple and reduce your wasted time.
I’m a big believer that Adventure doesn’t have to be those escapes to Maldives or all exclusive resorts. They are nice and no hate to them, but realistically it’s not for everyone.
It’s all in what you make of your current surroundings.
I often hear from people I know, “You go to all these cool places” or “You’re always doing something”. I still have down time, a full-time career, this website takes time, and I’m working on some side hustles. So keep in mind that what you see in the internet isn’t always as it seems. Again, it’s not 100% reality and as people we tend to forget that.
The Ten Adventure Tips
Tip One – Start locally and expand from there.
There are so many people that live in an area but they simply never go out and that is mind boggling to me. Take for instance, the Metro Atlanta area. There are so many things to see in and around Atlanta to do that range from yearly festivals to one-time events.
Unless you live in the middle of nowhere I don’t see why anyone wouldn’t want to go out and see what is beyond their four walls.
Tip Two – Timing – Take a half day and go to local festival. In my area, they typically have a Summer Concerts on Friday Nights and Thursday Movie Nights at the downtown amphitheater.
Tip Three – Do something you haven’t done before as an indoor activity. Try a painting or pottery class. If that’s not your thing, try axe throwing. I went with a group and it ended up being one of the more fun nights out. You don’t know until you try.
Tip Four – Do something you haven’t done before as an outdoor activity. One of the things on my list is a twilight hike at Sweetwater Park. I wrote this in 2019 and it’s still on my list. Some things just stay on the list until they don’t. The point is to keep adding to it.
Tip Five -Take mini-vacations instead of long ones throughout the year. If you’re up for a weekend excursion, take an overnight trip to a local city. I’m located in the Atlanta Metro Area and my choices would be Chattanooga, TN or Asheville, NC. Up for a longer trip, take a Friday and/or Monday off. Use Google Flights or your favorite airline for cities that are just a tad farther. For me a recent trip to New Orleans was a much needed extended weekend.
Tip Six – Get creative with your money. Being adventurous, may sometimes require you to be creative with your money beforehand. I’m not talking about getting a side hustle or anything like that. If you have unlimited amounts of funds good for you, but if your funds are limited, you can still do the little things that add up. Some people car camp when they go places while others may meal prep when they are not adventuring. These are some things that allow you to have more cash to go visit places. Plus it’s a good thing for your wallet anyways.
Tip Seven – You’ve got to be open-minded. Don’t have your idea of your adventures are going be all blue skies. Expect the unexpected and when it occurs, roll with it and make the most of it. After all, anything that happens is part of the adventure.
It’s the journey and not the destination.
Tip Eight – Use social media to your advantage. There are plenty Facebook Groups that are local to your city, surrounding counties or state and by interest. Some of them might be more active than others, but once you find them you’ll be able to network with others and expand your adventure friends and adventure list.
Tip Nine – Be aware of your surroundings and trust your gut. There have been several times I had plans to go somewhere and something just didn’t sit right, so I didn’t go. That instinct is worth listening to. Do your research beforehand and play it smart.
Tip Ten – Be flexible and be prepared. Things happen: a campsite falls through, plans change, the weather turns. Keep your options open and pack for the unexpected. A small poncho takes up almost no space and the one time you leave it behind is exactly when a popup shower shows up. But when things do go sideways, roll with it. That’s part of the adventure. Some of the best moments come from the plans that didn’t work out.
None of this requires a big budget or a packed schedule. Start with what’s around you, say yes to something new, and go from there. The rest takes care of itself.
Cathy Gray is a digital marketing and eCommerce professional based in Metro Atlanta, GA. Outside of work she's chasing waterfalls, kayaking rivers, and finding places to camp to see the stars. Her dog Sam is officially retired from the adventures but still supervises from the couch or campsite. None of it happens without coffee in the morning.
